Christa Art

Chitra in The Premonition

Found this still of LET'S GO FOR BROKE villain, Chitra (Neogy) in the 1975 movie THE PREMONITION, probably the first film she did after BROKE. Seen here with actor Jeff Corey (l).

Warning!

I just spotted a site online offering LET'S GO FOR BROKE on a 2 disc Blu-Ray set with extras and subs and everything like that. Pardon me if I don't believe it as it's my understanding there are less than 6 copies of the film in existence and several of the folks who have one don't want it released and I've agreed not to release MY copy. If you're interested in Christa's story and would love to see the movie, I urge you to use caution if you see it offered for sale, for download or for streaming. 

As of right now, to the best of my knowledge, LET'S GO FOR BROKE is simply NOT out there in its entirety, legally or even illegally! 

Christa On Wonder Woman

Some new screen captures from Christa's WONDER WOMAN episode.

Christa Makes the List

Thanks to Lou Mougin for pointing out this recently posted look at the Top Ten show business careers cut short by mysterious deaths or disappearances. Thanks to CBS, John O' Dowd and myself, the once forgotten Christa Helm is on the list. As long as her name stays out there, there's always hope that her case WILL get solved.

http://listverse.com/2013/05/24/10-entertainment-careers-cut-short-by-unsolved-mysteries/

Original Broke Director Alex Stevens

I ran across another photo of Alex Stevens, the stuntman who was verified by Chitra to have been the original director of LET'S GO FOR BROKE's Haiti scenes. He was replaced by Producer Stuart Duncan with Ron Walsh when the production resumed in Florida after a holiday break. 

Lady J Ad!

Okay, now THIS is fascinating! Best size and resolution I could get without spending a fortune to access the VARIETY archives but this is a trade ad touting the 1975-76 releases from Joseph Brenner and Associates and one of them is LADY J, the still lost, supposedly re-edited version of Christa Helm's LET'S GO FOR BROKE! According to our previous information, while Brenner had the project for a couple of years, it was never released, even after announced intentions to do so in 1977 in order to exploit her murder! But, as seen here, they clearly were planning on releasing it in 1975!

Another Earl Wilson column--April 18th, 1973

Below: Stuart Duncan in 2010 when he ran for office.

Christa Makes the List

http://www.ranker.com/list/the-13-most-fascinating-unsolved-hollywood-murders/william-neckard

The murder of Christa Helm made this recent list of the 13 most fascinating unsolved Hollywood murders at number eleven.

Colorized Christa

Was searching for Christa Helm info online when I stumbled across this nifty colorized version of what is arguably her most famous image...on a porn site! It was accompanied by other familiar shots as well as a brief article that was more accurate than many others one can find online.

Jaqueline Mayro, Broke Co-Star

Actress Jacqueline Mayro, seen here onstage with intense actor John Savage in the early seventies, not long before she would co-star as the woman whose kidnapping sparks the plot of LET'S GO FOR BROKE. 

Frank Raiter in Cincinnati

One of the unanswered questions regarding LET'S GO FOR BROKE is "Why was Cincinnati chosen for the premiere?" Producer Duncan told me he didn't remember and there seems no connection between Christa Helm herself and Cincinnati.  Here, though, we see Frank Raiter (l, above), who, along with Chitra Neogy, was the villain of the film. The page below is from the 1972-73 THEATRE WORLD annual by John Willis, and covers The Cincinnati Playhouse season . The Playhouse performed several shows, all with a repertory company that included... Frank Raiter. The season ended in May of '73 according to the page and we know that LET'S GO FOR BROKE was shooting towards that same year's end. When talk came of a premiere engagement at the end of '74, was it Frank perhaps who suggested Cincinnati?